On Monday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre appeared to fumble ,when asked whether there have been other Chinese surveillance missions flown over the United States during Biden’s presidency. Apparently, Jean-Pierre could not say whether there have been other Chinese spy flights over the U.S. during President Biden’s administration.
Two days after the U.S. military shot down the Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina, Jean-Pierre tried to address questions put her a White House press briefing. Reportedly, she was asked whether the Chinese balloon, carrying sensors and surveillance equipment, was the first one identified flying over U.S. airspace under the Biden administration. She did not answer the question directly but said-
"Chinese surveillance balloons have been around for some time" and "we even briefed Congress this past August." adding…"So, don’t have anything more to say or to share,"
-Karine Jean-Pierre, White House Press Secretary
She was further questioned how it was possible Chinese spy balloons traveled over the continental U.S., supposedly at least three times, during the Trump administration but were not discovered until after Trump left office. Again, seeming to fumble with her words, again, Jean-Pierre, didn’t answer directly. Refusing to discuss or share the details of discussions with the intelligence community, at that point she stated -
"But again, we are ready to brief key officials to let them know … what the intelligence community was able to figure out,"
-Karine Jean-Pierre, White House Press Secretary
Then, the reporter questioned her, regarding whether U.S. officials have had conversations with the Chinese about balloons over U.S. airspace during this administration, she replied-
"We’re not going to get into specifics of private diplomatic conversations we have with China. We’re just not going to do that from here," … "We’ve been very clear that what China did was indeed a violation of international law."
-Karine Jean-Pierre, White House Press Secretary
She refused to comment further or clarify her remarks after that. Dodging questions and or hopefully not explaining herself, or the administration, has been her blossoming forte’.
Regarding current China – U.S relations, in a high-stakes bid to ease ever-rising tensions, Secretary of State Antony Blinken was scheduled to be in Beijing on Monday, meeting with President Xi Jinping. Instead, after abruptly canceling his visit late last week, Blinken was spending the day in Washington, as the U.S. and China exchanged angry words, regarding the Chinese spy balloon the U.S. shot down. US-China relations have been deteriorating well ahead of Blinken's planned trip. Presently they seem to continue to worsen. Time will tell if any improvement will be seen.
“A lack of communication leaves fear and doubt.”
-Kellan Lutz